After the latest development on ISIS’s way to build its dream caliphate – reaching the Sinai Peninsula- the Egyptian Foreign Ministry has decided to issue a style guide document regarding the description of the terrorist group in the Middle East for the foreign press corps based in Cairo. Although, there have been some discussions in the Arab speaking world whether the media should stop labeling ISIS/IS/ISIL (which literally stands for “The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria/Levant”), up till now there were no legal restrictions for the international media.

Among other, Egyptian Foreign Ministry asks journalists to refrain from using especially terms such as Islamist,jihadists, Islamic State, Caliphate – which are ISIS’s own descriptions of itself and its mission on Earth- in order not to perpetuate “negative connotations which are largely based on heinous stereotypes and ill-informed predisposition”*.Continue reading →